Christmas blessings

First we thought John would be released Tuesday. However his GI doctor didn't want to release him....he wanted to remove more fluid and get cultures since it previously showed a bacterial infection. So on Christmas Eve, John received platelets and plasma, and had his stomach tapped again, this time removing 2100 ccs. The cultures won't be back until Monday or Tuesday so I figured he'd be in the hospital at least till then. The next day his admitting doctor was pleased with his bloodwork and said he could go home. It was the best Christmas present! He felt good enough to join us for Christmas dinner. He's tired, but in much better spirits. Praise God. We're not sure what's ahead for him, but we're just taking one day at a time.

I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas. I'll be heading back to Florida on the first.

Merry Christmas!

Arrived in PA very late last night. The flight was delayed an hour. Left Orlando at 9:30, arrived in Pittsburgh at 11:30. Spent most of the day with John today. He will probably be released tomorrow. They want to remove some more fluid and test it for bacteria. I'll explain more in a later post. He's in good spirits and looking forward to going home.

Wishing you all a blessed, peaceful Christmas and a healthy, happy 2009. May God richly bless you in the coming year!

Much better

John had a decent today, THANK YOU GOD. They gave him 2 more units of blood and he has his appetite back. Not sure what's next on the agenda. Thanks for all your prayers!

John Update

John had a much better day today. Yesterday was a bad one for sure. He rested comfortably most of the day. I think he just had bloodwork and an ultrasound today. They removed 2400 ccs of fluid from his abdomen, roughly 72 ounces. That helped relieve the pressure on his diaphragm which was making it difficult for him to breathe. I truly appreciate your prayers and please continue to pray. I'm looking forward to getting up there, mostly to provide moral support!

I had a breast MRI today. I moved around a bunch of appointments to January since my holiday plans changed. My cold/sore throat/congestion is getter better.

I had a great time with Steve, Kim, the kids and Kim's mom, Judy. I spent Wednesday afternoon and evening with them at Disney. The prior Sunday, Joe, Linda, Angela and I met them at the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. We were craning our necks trying to check in on the Steelers-Ravens game on the TV above the bar. Afterward we spent some time in a huge Disney store and we kept checking the last few minutes of the game on Steve's Blackberry! It was pretty funny, us standing there amidst all these shoppers staring at the Crackberry. LOL

Rough day for bro

Yesterday John received a blood transfusion. Today he was given frozen plasma and platelets. His blood levels are all out of whack. He also had a port installed for blood draws and his stomach was tapped. Please keep John in your prayers. I'm flying up there Monday. Sitting here in Florida isn't doing it for me. I want to be able to keep him company and keep an eye on what the docs and nurses are doing.

My brother John

Please keep my brother John in your prayers. He has been suffering from liver disease and is being admitted to the hospital today. He has been bloated from excess fluid. I don't have any other info right now.

Road trip

It's been raining since early this morning and it looks like we'll have rain as we head down to West Palm Beach later today. I think we're going to stay Friday night at my cousin's so we have more time to visit. We'll head back Saturday morning. Sunday afternoon we'll meet Steve and his family at Downtown Disney. I probably won't post again until Monday, so have a great weekend everyone! xoxoxo